Capital Advisory Group January 2018

Capital Advisory Group January 2018

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119 Old State Rd, Ellisville, MO 63021 CapitalAdvisoryGrp.com

JAN 2018

MAKE TAX SEASON MANAGEABLE

Every year, tax season seems like it comes from nowhere. You watch your calendar, preparing for the date, when suddenly, there it is. Is there any way to avoid it? No. But there are tools and strategies you can implement to make it less of a menacing beast and more of a friendly, if mischievous, housecat. To begin with, you can determine when to plan and when to prepare. Instead of avoiding your taxes until March, learn how you can be more efficient this tax season. TAX PLANNING Tax planning is everything that leads up to your tax preparation. You’ll organize the documents you need ahead of time so you don’t find yourself anxiously scrambling to find them in that file you made months ago. As you plan, you’ll start to think about the changes to your lifestyle that have come about in the last year. Have your daycare expenditures changed? Are there new additions to your family? Has your source of income changed? As you start to answer these questions, you’ll be able to get the information organized and have it ready to return to us.

Don’t underestimate the time it takes to gather paperwork. Give yourself time by asking yourself these questions early in the year.That will make the process move much more quickly, and you’ll be able to say hello to April with a smile. What’s the advantage of planning? It will probably save you time, for one thing. You won’t get all those annoying phone calls from us, bugging you about that one last sheet of paper we need in order to prepare your taxes. Because you’ve planned, you’ll have already turned in everything, which will allow us to prepare Once you’ve done your planning, the preparation will be much easier because most of it can be left to us. Tax preparation is our role in preparing your taxes for filing. If you’ve done the planning, the preparation will be a breeze. How can you begin to incorporate planning and preparation into your life? Each January, we’ll send you a packet for organizing your taxes.This packet is intended for you to use as a guide as you prepare to submit your taxes to us. Your packet includes customized information that will help you identify the questions to ask yourself and the documentation your taxes more quickly. TAX PREPARATION

you will need to include. In it, you will find personalized checklists and questions to help you determine exactly what information we’ll need. Look for your tax packet in the next couple of weeks. When it arrives, don’t set it aside! Take time to review it and answer your personalized questions. As you start your New Year’s resolutions, one of them can be a less-stressful tax season. Happy New Year! P.S. Last month, you might’ve noticed that one of our team members was missing from our picture on page 4. We forgot to include Margrit, our wonderful administrative assistant! Not to worry, though. She’s still here and ready for the new year. John & Jeff Zufall

(636) 394-5524 1

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As you begin the year, you’re probably developing a new budget for your business. No matter how much you sell, there’s no quicker path to a cash shortage than bad budgeting. Here are a few tips to ensure you make the most accurate budget possible for 2018. DON’T UNDERESTIMATE EXPENSES Whether you’re talking about internal projects, marketing initiatives, or client services, you should always assume you’ll encounter unexpected costs. If you don’t leave wiggle room in your budget, you’ll have to borrow cash allocated to other endeavors. “Every project seems to have an extra cost that was never anticipated,” notes Shufflrr CEO James Ontra. It’s much better to budget for these speed bumps than run out of gas before you reach the finish line. ACCOUNT FOR FLUCTUATIONS Even if you don’t sell Christmas trees or pool toys, your business probably has a sales cycle. Assuming that your revenue and spending will be consistent throughout the year sets you up for failure. While making your budget, be sure to consider when you expect an off-season. This will allow you to focus on marketing efforts in your downtime and keep profits coming in when you need them most. Similarly, you should limit unnecessary spending during the months when you expect revenue to be down. MAKE REALISTIC PROJECTIONS Too many companies look at the future with rose-tinted glasses. “You never want to be in a position where you’re spending more than you have coming in,” says Annie Scranton, owner of Pace Public Relations. How do you end up in this quagmire? There’s no surer way than projecting huge growth without the >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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